Energy balance refers to the relationship between calorie intake and calorie expenditure. Remember that a calorie is a unit of energy found in food that gives the body energy to live and perform. When an athlete eats less calories than they expend (a deficit), they can expect to lose weight. On the contrary, when an athlete eats more calories than they expend (a surplus), they can expect to gain weight. And when an athlete is eating as many calories as they expend, they can expect to maintain their weight.
It’s worth noting that athletes can also expect to gain weight when they go from eating below their expenditure to eating as many calories as their expenditure, or what is needed to maintain their weight and support their activity level.
Athletes have far greater calorie needs than non-athletes. An athlete trains heavily 5+ days per week, and on top of that the athlete participates in competitive events multiple times in the same week. All of this activity is on top of their normal activities of daily living that may include walking/biking to class, playing pick up sports for fun, working a part-time job, not to mention going to school.
In my program, we often point out that our athletes will (and should) eat more than their friends. Many athletes find this to be a bad thing, and that is because societal culture tells everyone that eating less is better. This is not necessarily true for the athlete.
The amount of energy an athlete expends on top of their normal activities of daily living can equate to an additional 1,500 calories per day compared to the non-athlete.
There can be serious consequences for an athlete who under-eats. Short-term consequences look like fatigue, difficulty focusing, recurring injuries, or not making progress in performance benchmarks. Long-term consequences look like weak bones, poor reproductive health, poor mental health, and chronic disease.
Many athletes under-eat, and it’s not their fault! Athletes simply don’t know how many calories they actually need. So, If your athlete is under-eating, I have a really simple way to start increasing calories immediately.
Sit down with your athlete and come up with snacks that equate to 300 calories. A good example of a 300-calorie snack is 2 full-fat mozzarella cheese sticks and 1/4 cup of almonds. It’s important to use foods your athlete likes, and maybe even foods they already eat. Check out a few other examples below.
Once you and your athlete have come up with a good list of three to five 300-calorie snacks, then it’s time to develop a strategy to include those snacks into their day. Specify a time that is the easiest for the athlete to implement. It’s important we get specific, because this will help the athlete win their goal, and ultimately increase their calorie intake.
After you and your athlete have established a feeding time, encourage your athlete to focus on solely adding this one snack every single day, and once that gets easier, add another. Continue to add more 300-calorie snacks throughout the day one at a time, until your athlete reaches their calorie goal! Then your athlete will be on their way to more energy, focus, and confidence in their sports nutrition.
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